Apopka elects first new mayor in decades

APOPKA | After six decades, the residents of Apopka have a new leader.

Joe Kilsheimer received 54 percent of the vote in Tuesday's runoff election. He defeated 93-year-old John Land, who was first elected mayor of the Orlando suburb in 1949. He served for the next six decades, except for three years.

Land told WFTV (http://bit.ly/1e9QJ2D ) that he'll probably have a broken heart when the reality sinks in. He had run unopposed over the last dozen years.

Kilsheimer, a former newspaper reporter and self-employed media consultant, says the election doesn't change what Land has done for the city over the years.

But many residents said they wanted change at the top.

The new mayor says he wants to create more jobs and prepare the city for the growth that's inevitable.